US economy only added 266,000 April jobs; markets rally; UK construction surges despite soaring costs – as it happened

Graeme Wearden

from on 2021-05-07 17:42 (#5HJ2K)

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as the recovery in the US labour market slows unexpectedly

FTSE 100 closes at 14-month high as rally continues
US jobs report for April much weaker than expected
Economists had forecast 1 million new jobs
Unemployment rate rises to 6.1%
Leisure and hospitality added jobs but manufacturing employment fell

Earlier:

6.42pm BST

With European stock markets closed for the week, it's time to wrap up.

A quick recap....

We knew this wouldn't be a sprint; it would be a marathon.

Quite frankly, we're moving more rapidly than I thought we would."

6.38pm BST

The weaker US dollar helped to push the pound back to $1.40 this afternoon, for the first time in over two weeks.

It's hovering at $1.3990 right now, up a cent today.

The first minister and Scottish National party leader told reporters in Glasgow a majority has always been a very, very long shot" as the first vote counts showed surges in support for many sitting Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat constituency candidates.

With voters barraged by Conservative warnings that Sturgeon would press for a second independence referendum if she wins a majority, there was a record turnout in polling stations across the country as shy Tory voters turned out in larger than normal numbers.

6.25pm BST

At restaurants across the country - from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Forth Worth, Texas - the same sign is popping up:

We are short staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. No one wants to work anymore."

In the absence of the benefits there would probably be a little bit more applications and hiring would be a little bit easier, but the main drive of the recent change in sentiment is that hiring is accelerating."

6.02pm BST

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen heralded the progress the economy has achieved to escape the grip of the coronavirus pandemic but said more action was needed to build back better.", Reuters reports.

We've made remarkable progress," Yellen told reporters at the White House. But she said jobs data for April showed that we're not yet finished."

As our economy continues to heal, it's important to consider ways in which we can build back better,".

Yellen pushes back against biz charges that expanded UI impacting hiring. The jobs report is a little bit stronger than the headlines might suggest" on hiring. Adds We've had a very unusual hit to our economy, and the road back is going to be somewhat bumpy." pic.twitter.com/F8Ml4BpRNz

Janet Yellen: "I really don't think the major factor is the extra unemployment" holding back hiring.

She points to these 3 as bigger factors in slow hiring:
-Ongoing childcare issues
-Ongoing fears of covid exposure at work
-Supply chain bottlenecks pic.twitter.com/BCNTC7pVoA

5.39pm BST

Treasury secretary Janet Yellen is now discussing the jobs report too:

Janet Yellen: "I believe we will reach full employment next year." pic.twitter.com/QvZOIm5XGK

US TREASURY SECRETARY YELLEN: THE APRIL JOBS REPORT EMPHASIZES THE LENGTHY ROAD BACK TO ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES.

"I believe we will reach full employment next year, but today's number show that we are not yet finished," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says.

5.34pm BST

President Joe Biden has said the American Rescue Plan, his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, would help the US economy return to pre-pandemic levels, my colleague Joan E Greve reports.

We knew this wouldn't be a sprint; it would be a marathon.

Quite frankly, we're moving more rapidly than I thought we would."

It's to get us back to where we were, but that's not nearly enough. We have to build back better."

This month's job numbers show we are on the right track. We still have a long way to go."

President Biden says he wants "to put today's jobs report in perspective" after economy created 266,000 jobs in April, well below the 1 million predictions. "Quite frankly, we're moving more rapidly than I thought we would," he says.

5.15pm BST

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index has closed at a new record high, up around 0.9% at 444.93 points.

All the main markets closed higher, led by Germany's DAX, with investors still appearing confident about the economic recovery.

Today's huge miss' on the headline NFP figure, and the downgrade to last month's blowout figure, contributed to a general relaxation of nerves regarding any changes to Fed policy. Risk assets took off, the dollar fell, and gold built on its strong rally in yesterday's session.

In normal times a 200,000+ job print would be good news, but these are not normal times, and the high expectations preceding today's number set investors up for disappointment, at least in terms of the continued economic rebound. Stocks have been in search of a catalyst to resume their move higher, and it looks like today's number has provided the spark. It will certainly take the pressure off the Fed to discuss any changes in policy, at least for another month, and thus is likely to be taken as good news both on Wall Street and in the corridors of the Federal Reserve building.

5.10pm BST

Some good points here:

What does today's jobs report mean for everyday people?@mckonomy: "Things are looking up, but they're not looking up as quickly as people might have thought."@romainebostick: "Today's report maybe is going to cause people to step back and say, 'let's reassess the pace'" pic.twitter.com/z85IgCrLIP

5.06pm BST

Back in London, the FTSE 100 index has closed at its highest level in over 14 months.

The blue-chip share index ended the day 53 points higher at 7129.71 points, up 0.75%.

4.50pm BST

Here's some more reaction:

It's like this jobs report was tailor-made to give everybody a talking point.

For the Fed, it's that patience is truly a virtue. https://t.co/dc6aSHWa0C

White House not letting today's Jobs report knock their messaging off-script. Biden's advisers say it is progress and shows the need for more investment. https://t.co/TOyq2rmh3h

Hard to single out unemployment benefits as "dampening" job growth in the lowest-wage industries when those same industries are the ones with the fastest job growth https://t.co/4OqlLBc7PW pic.twitter.com/EjXJI7aswl

4.33pm BST

Another point to note from the jobs report: the US labor force participation rate was little changed at 61.7% percent in April, and is 1.6 percentage points lower than before the pandemic.

That shows that many people are still out of the jobs market (neither in work or looking).

Every piece of the economic puzzle was building a picture of strong recovery and thriving growth in the US, but the employment data has proved a shocking outlier. With both nonfarm payrolls and unemployment coming in much worse than expected, the combination of a rapid vaccine rollout, hefty fiscal stimulus and ultra-easy monetary policy has not yet pushed the US economy into the clear.

What's more, the devil is in the detail. The Fed is keen to monitor inclusive employment, to ensure that the US doesn't fall into the K-shaped' recovery trap.

4.27pm BST

Average US hourly earnings jumped 21 cents to $30.17 last month, following a four cent fall in March.

That's better than forecast -- but it could be a sign that fewer low-paid jobs were created than expected, rather than simply bosses lifting wages to attract staff.

This wage increase is temporary, over the next few months wage pressure will struggle to rise as lower paying jobs return and drag down the average.

4.21pm BST

One glimmer of good news: February's nonfarm payroll was revised up by 68,000, from +468,000 to +536,000.

But that was more than countered by the 146,000 downward revision to March's NFP flagged earlier, from +916,000 to +770,000.

4.13pm BST

Today's US Non-Farm Payroll report is one of the largest downside misses on record", according to Bloomberg.

That's based on the Wall Street forecast for around 1m new hires last month -- not the mere 266,000 reported.

The disappointing payrolls print leaves overall employment more than 8 million short of its pre-pandemic level and is consistent with recent comments from company officials highlighting challenges in filling open positions.

It's a lot faster to lay off workers than it is to hire them back," said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. While we are seeing some workers come back into the labor force it just isn't fast enough."

Reposting some charts from the blog: (1) total nonfarm payroll employment is now 5.4%, or 8.22MM, below pre-pandemic levels as of April (versus -5.6% in March) and leisure and hospitality is still down 16.8%, or 2.85MM (versus -18.8% in March) pic.twitter.com/zT5zKq8fGx

(2) Powell dashboard: total household employment is still 4.8%, or 7.56MM, below pre-pandemic levels (-5% in March), Black employment is still down 5.9%, or 1.15MM (-6.5% in March), non-college employment still down 8.3%, or 3.67MM (-9% in March) pic.twitter.com/hEpTLQgZM5

(3) Prime working-age employment-to-population ratio ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 76.9% in April, following a three-tenths increase in March. So, at the March pace, we recover in a year, whereas at the April pace the recovery would take three years pic.twitter.com/F2ygOhZHlB

(4) Interesting statistic: teenagers are the only age group who have fully recovered (total employment now up 1.4% versus Feb. 2020) pic.twitter.com/wJjMKhVxih

3.33pm BST

A year ago, we were writing about the biggest plunge in US employment on record, when over 20 million people lost their jobs in April 2020 and the unemployment rate hit its highest since the Great Depression.

So while jobs creation was weak last month, and eight million jobs are still lost, Covid-19 vaccines do mean the picture is less grim 12 months on.

What a difference a year makes with an effective vaccine rollout.

This time last year US non-farm payrolls recorded its largest ever decline on record with over 20m dropping out of the workforce in the month of April 2020 as the economy ground to a sudden stop. Fast forward to today and the employment change last month saw only 266k people (re)join the jobs market. This was a huge miss against expectations of nearer to 1m new jobs priced into markets.

3.17pm BST

In New York, traders have responded to the disappointing jobs report by driving stocks to new peaks in early trading.

Both the Dow Jones industrial average (which contains 30 of America's largest and best-known companies) and the broader S&P 500 have hit record highs - extending their recent rally.

#MarketWatch DJIA, S&P 500 hit new intraday records

US indices all now in the green:#DOW 34597.79 +0.14%#SPX 4215 +0.32%#NDX 13703.0 +0.66%#RTY 2254.28 +0.57%#VIX 18.19 -1.09%

And the bad jobs report ... causes the S&P 500 to hit a record high! What an economy pic.twitter.com/U3P6QjKsRU

2.57pm BST

The US dollar dropped when the jobs report came out, briefly hitting its lowest level since late February against a basket of currencies.

US #Dollar Index tumbles to 3-month lows near 90.40 on NFP https://t.co/4rmXrDAZ2T pic.twitter.com/zd1j0iWqbh

2.49pm BST

The slowdown in hiring last month appears to vindicate the Federal Reserve's cautious approach this year.....and the White House's stimulus package.

Although the Fed has forecast strong growth and falling unemployment this year, it has resisted calls to slow its bond purchase program or consider raising interest rates soon.

For those who feared the US economy would overheat, the bigger risk may be that it is undercooked. Today's report shows there won't be an overnight fix for millions who remain unemployed.

The US economy still has a long way to go in its recovery. It also means the Federal Reserve's policy of near zero interest rates and Congress' push for more fiscal spending will continue in the months ahead. For the rest of the world, it means they can't rely solely on the US to power a global economic recovery in 2021."

2.30pm BST

Glassdoor's Senior Economist Daniel Zhao says today's report is a bit of a head scratcher' - denting hopes of a sharp recovery in employment.

The recovery hit a speed bump in April" he says, adding that it may indicate that labor shortages are affecting the US economy:

Amid concerns of labor shortages, the data in today's report isn't wholly consistent with the idea that labor shortages have crimped the recovery.

Labor shortages were most commonly reported in leisure & hospitality, but the industry also saw the strongest job growth in April. While it's possible that gains would've been even higher without these labor shortage challenges, it is unusual that they would show up in other industries more severely.

Job gains were largest in leisure & hospitality (+331K jobs added) & govenrment (+48K). Job losses were mixed across services & goods sectors with job losses in transportation & warehousing (-74.1K) & temp help services (-111.4K) seeing largest declines#jobsreport #jobsday 6/ pic.twitter.com/gGaqqA8LEt

2.28pm BST

The number of people working as couriers and messengers in the US fell by 77,000 in April, the jobs report shows.

That looks to be a sign that the boom in e-commerce deliveries has faded as Americans return to the shops, as pandemic restrictions lift.

Here are some sectors that *lost* jobs in April:

- Temporary help services: -111K
- Couriers and messengers: -77K
- Food and beverage stores: -49K
- Manufacturing: -18K
- Retail: -15K#JobsReport

2.14pm BST

Economist James Foster has tweeted the key points from today's jobs report:

US non-farm payrolls were nowhere near it in April rising 266k vs 1m expected. Payrolls were revised up 68k in February but down 146k in March (net -78k). #NFP pic.twitter.com/nvxRpnZmt4

Unemployment was a touch higher (6.1% from 6.0%) but underemployment declined from 10.7% to 10.4%. pic.twitter.com/iQ14quLQ7P

Participation rate and the employment to population ratio were a little firmer in April. pic.twitter.com/7dE7SiBtL6

2.14pm BST

More details from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (6.1%), adult women (5.6%), teenagers (12.3%), Whites (5.3%), Blacks (9.7%), Asians (5.7%), and Hispanics (7.9%) showed little or no change in April.

Among the unemployed, the number of persons on temporary layoff, at 2.1m, changed little in April. This measure is down considerably from the recent high of 18.0m in April 2020 but is 1.4m higher than in February 2020.

The number of permanent job losers, at 3.5m, was also little changed over the month but is 2.2m higher than in February 2020.

2.02pm BST

The big picture is that nonfarm employment across the US is still down by 8.2 million compared to its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, following April's disappointing jobs report.

This chart shows how the initial recovery from the shock of the pandemic last year has faded:

1.53pm BST

The Washington Post's Heather Long says April's jobs report is a big disappointment':

Big disappointment on April hiring.
This will fuel claims of a "labor shortage" as hiring slowed a lot last month.

Overall hiring:
December: -306,000
Jan: +233,000
Feb: +536,000
March: +770,000
April: +266,000

Restaurants added +187,000 in April versus +99,700 in March

NOTABLE: As people point to a labor shortage in the jobs data, keep this in mind:

Overall hiring slowed:
December: -306,000
Jan: +233,000
Feb: +536,000
March: +770,000
April: +266,000

But restaurant hiring picked up:
April: +187,000
March: +99,700
Feb: +336,600
Jan: +22,100

1.52pm BST

US manufacturing employment fell last month, with an 18,000 drop in jobs in April.

That includes a 27k drop in jobs in the auto industry, where carmakers have been hit by the global shortage of semiconductors.

In April, job losses in motor vehicles and parts (-27,000) and in wood products (-7,000) more than offset job gains in miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing (+13,000) and chemicals (+4,000).

Employment in manufacturing is 515,000 lower than in February 2020.

#jobsday manufacturing lost 18k jobs, biggest factor is drop in 27k decline in auto production due to chip shortage

1.48pm BST

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says:

Notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education were partially offset by employment declines in temporary help services and in couriers and messengers.

1.42pm BST

In another blow, March's Non-Farm Payroll has been revised down too.

It now shows that 770,000 new jobs were created in the US in March, down from the 916,000 estimated a month ago.

Boom! Big miss in NFP. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April (consensus range 755k - 2.1mm) , and the unemployment rate was
little changed at 6.1%. And big revision down in March's NFP. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised

1.35pm BST

Newsflash: The US economy added just 266,000 new jobs in April, missing expectations.

That's a lot weaker than expected -- way shy of the Wall Street consensus of nearly one million new jobs.

#NFP growth for April comes in at disappointing +266K
The unemployment rate was UP to 6.1 %
Wow!
Now we go look under the hood and see what happened on a sectoral basis.
Also, watch here and @jobqualityindex in about 15 minutes for the #JQInstant.

1.24pm BST

As usual, there's a broad spread of forecasts for the Non-Farm Payroll report, but the consensus is for roughly one million new jobs in April.

Alright folks, drop those #NFPguesses in the comments pic.twitter.com/8mO0oMwvZg

1.14pm BST

It's nearly time to learn how many new jobs were created in America last month.

Economists are expecting a strong Non-Farm Payroll report - with many predicting at last a million fresh hires, which would be the best since last August.

US BLS 'Employment Situation Summary' - What The Major Economists Are Forecasting

Date Due For Release At 13:30 BST (08:30 ET) pic.twitter.com/szJujNI85d

After a volatile week, brace yourself for more fireworks as we look forward to the release of the April 2021 non-farm payrolls report.

In recent days, investors have been piling into risk-sensitive assets, including commodities and value stocks and anything that relies on economic growth.

12.53pm BST

Holiday Inn parent InterContinental Hotels Group has seen a pick-up in demand in recent weeks as economies have started to reopen.

There was a notable pick-up in demand in March, particularly in the US and China, which continued into April.

While the risk of volatility remains for the balance of the year, there is clear evidence from forward bookings data of further improvement as we look to the months ahead.

12.35pm BST

Elsewhere in the markets, MSCI's emerging market currency index has hit a record high today.

It's been lifted by gains in the Chinese yuan, following today's better-than-expected trade figures, and the ongoing weakness of the US dollar.

The benchmark jumped 0.3% and is on track for a 0.4% advance over the past seven days, its fifth straight week of gains.

China's yuan has strengthened 0.25% in offshore trading on Friday to hit its best level in 2-1/2 months.

New post (Commodity rally sparks jump in emerging-market currencies, credit) has been published on FUNDSWIFT - https://t.co/nUejHCgTEv pic.twitter.com/l3PliwN6dX

11.57am BST

The FTSE 100 is pushing higher too, lifted by mining giants.

It's now up 54 points or 0.75% at 7130 points, a fresh 14-month high.

Robust earnings and yet more upbeat data from the Eurozone indicates the economy has turned a corner.

German industrial production numbers printed ahead of forecasts, following in the footsteps of a string of data points across the week. In addition to German factory orders, Eurozone retail sales, Eurozone services and composite PMIs all came in ahead of consensus estimates, which bodes well for Q2 growth.

11.33am BST

Britain's FTSE 250 index of medium-sized companies has hit a new record high today, thanks to the economic recovery and some takeover talk.

The FTSE 250, which is more domestically focused than the blue-chip FTSE 100, has jumped 1% to a new peak of 22,724 points.

Two private equity approaches in two days - one for John Laing from KKR and one for St Modwen from Blackstone - add to a growing list of takeover offers for UK-listed companies, to suggest there is still value to be had, even as the FTSE 100 tries to pull away from the 7,000 mark,

Granted, KKR is yet to table a formal bid for John Laing, but St Modwen's board seems minded to recommend the 542p-a-share cash offer and the 21% premium that represents, should a firm offer be made.

10.58am BST

Back in the markets, commodity prices continue to climb -- implying another rise in raw material costs....

LME update:#Aluminium 2541 +1.56%#Copper 10278 +1.75%#Nickel 18038 +0.92%#Lead 2221 +0.18%#Zinc 2968 +0.82%#Metals #Commodities

10.57am BST

Overall, April's surveys of purchasing managers suggest that the UK economy grew strongly last month as it emerged from the pandemic lockdown.

The manufacturing PMI hit its highest level in 27 years on Tuesday; yesterday, service sector growth hit a seven-year peak, lifting overall private sector growth to the fastest since October 2013.

Even allowing that the purchasing managers' surveys can overstate developments in the #economy at times of major movement, the strength of the April set of #PMI's - manufacturing (60.9) services (61.0) construction (61.6) - bode well for second quarter #UK #GDP growth https://t.co/nOdl7hLARK

10.34am BST

The impact of those stretched supply chains on builders can be seen here:

This is very positive news for the industry and the wider economy. Indeed, it confirms the views and experiences that construction professionals and contractors have been reporting.

It will also focus the industry to continue to develop alternative ways of delivering projects with the use of modular and prefabricated construction in order to balance the increasing demand on traditional supply chains to ensure they can deliver on the market demands.

10.28am BST

Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, says supply chains are struggling to cope with the surge in demand from busy construction firms.

This means builders face hefty price hikes for materials -- from aggregates and timber to steel, cement and concrete.

Issues around supply chain performance acted as a drag on capacity however as supply constraints on essential materials increased to one of the third highest levels since 1997 when the survey began.

Brexit issues remained a factor affecting deliveries from the EU and suppliers generally were struggling to meet the sudden rush in demand leading to shortages of basic materials.

10.20am BST

UK construction output has now grown for 10 of the last 11 months, since returning to growth last June after the first lockdown (January 2021 was the exception).

Firms are highly upbeat" about their growth prospects too, IHS Markit says:

More than half of the survey panel (57%) expect a rise in business activity during the next 12 months, while only 7% forecast a decline.

10.18am BST

This chart show how construction activity remained strong in April, with builders taking on staff at the fastest rate since December 2015.

10.08am BST

Britain's construction sector grew strongly in April as the economy emerged from lockdown... with builders facing a record surge in raw material costs.

Construction firms have reported that output jumped in April, across civil engineering, commercial work and house building.

A rapid rise in demand for construction products and materials continued to stretch supply chains in April. The latest lengthening of suppliers' delivery times was the third-greatest since the survey began in 1997, exceeded only by those seen during the lockdown in April and May last year.

Construction firms mostly cited demand and supply imbalances, but some suggested that Brexit issues had led to delays with inputs arriving from the EU.

Higher prices paid for a wide range of construction items contributed to the fastest overall rate of cost inflation since the survey began in April 1997 (index at 84.6, up from 77.8 in March).

Steel, timber and transportation were among the most commonly reported items up in price.

Lumber limit up pic.twitter.com/78AqkVRunL

10.02am BST

After a three-year fight to overhaul Barclays.....the activist investor Edward Bramson has withdrawn from the battle by selling his 6% stake in the company.

My colleague Mark Sweney explains:

Sherborne Investors, Bramson's New York-based investment vehicle, said it was selling the stake to focus on a new unnamed investment target instead.

The British-born lawyer first took a stake in Barclays in 2018, criticising Barclays' underperforming investment bank and saying its strategy had failed to benefit shareholders.

9.49am BST

Takeover news: Private equity firm Blackstone Group has made a 1.21bn proposal for acquire St. Modwen Properties, the UK housebuilder and warehousing firm.

It's worth 542p per share in cash -- a 21.1% premium to last night's closing price.

Having considered the Possible Offer, the Board of St. Modwen has indicated to Blackstone that the Possible Offer is at a value the Board would be willing to recommend unanimously, should a firm intention to make an offer pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the [takeovers and mergers] Code be announced on such terms.

The property developer has a housing arm, a land and regeneration division, and it has a large logistics real estate business.

Warehousing firms have seen bumper demand during the pandemic as retailers sought space to cope with high online orders. St Modwen has a 19 million square feet pipeline of logistics projects.

Wondering what Blackstone is going to do with St Modwen? View the annual report of the house builder cum shed developer through the bid prism and many possibilities spring from the pages: housebuilder or shed builder. Which is it to be? Both? https://t.co/o1NLNRqeHm pic.twitter.com/hyHuP4hFUC

9.16am BST

Germany has followed China's lead, and reported solid trade growth as its manufacturers also benefit from the global rebound.

German exports grew 1.2% month-on-month in March to 126.5bn, the 11th month of growth in a row. They were 16.1% higher than a year ago (when the pandemic was forcing the global economy to shut down).

Compared with March 2020, exports increased by 16.1%, and imports by 15.5% in March 2021. These are the highest nominal values ever recorded for monthly exports and imports in foreign trade statistics.

Exports in March 2021: +1.2% on February 2021. https://t.co/KcSdJjg8Tq pic.twitter.com/SrA7ioG0Q0

Compared with the same month last year, exports to the United Kingdom fell by 13.2% to 6.5bn in March 2021. German imports from the United Kingdom increased by 1.6% to 3.1bn over the same period.

8.48am BST

The owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group, has reported a 1.2bn pre-tax loss for the first quarter and reiterated the need for the rollout of digital vaccine passports to enable the beleaguered aviation industry to get passengers back in the skies.

We're doing everything in our power to emerge in a stronger competitive position. We're absolutely confident that a safe restart to travel can happen as shown by the scientific data. We're ready to fly but government action is needed."

The govt will announce the travel traffic light system at 5pm.

Travel Consultant @PPaulCharles predicts countries including Portugal and Malta will be on the green list.

Countries including Spain and Italy could be added to the list at the end of June. pic.twitter.com/CtnA3HINmR

8.40am BST

Iron ore and copper have helped to push Bloomberg's index of commodities prices to its highest since 2011.

Bloomberg says:

Copper soared to an all-time record on expectations that rebounding economies will spur a boom in global demand, and the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index jumped to its highest level since 2011.

Elsewhere, spot iron ore broke $200 a ton for the first time, and WTI crude oil approached $65 a barrel.

#Copper soared to an all-time high, topping the previous record set in 2011, on expectations that rebounding economies will spur a boom in global demand. BBG

8.36am BST

As things stand, the FTSE 100 is on track for its best week in a month (since 5th-9th April).

8.27am BST

Up we go....

European Opening Bell

FTSE100 up 0.5%
STOXX50 up 0.5%
STOXX600 up 0.6%
DAX up 1%
CAC up 0.5%
IBEX up 0.7%
MIB up 0.6%

8.20am BST

The UK's blue-chip share index has hit a new 14-month high in early trading.

The FTSE 100 jumped 37 points to 7113 points, as it continues to rally on hopes of an economic rebound this year.

7.58am BST

Commodity prices are surging again today, as the economic recovery creates a scramble for raw materials.

Both iron ore and copper prices have hit record levels today, extending a rally in commodities.

Iron ore at record high. pic.twitter.com/oUG7WtlV75

The most-liquid September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange leapt 5.3% to 1,214 yuan ($187.94) a tonne by 0330 GMT, after earlier touching a high of 1,217.50 yuan.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.2% at $10,209 a tonne by 0503 GMT, after rising 1.4% earlier to hit an all-time high of $10,232. The contract has leapt 133% since March last year, when demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

And there we have it: copper at new record highs above $10,200. pic.twitter.com/pbMNAeNJXn

7.56am BST

China has reported strong trade growth today, highlighting how its economy is strengthening.

Chinese exports rose 32.3% year-on-year in April to almost $264bn, slightly faster than in March.

#China's trade surges in April:

exports jumped >7% m/m to an amazing 33% above 6-year trend

imports up >5% m/m and are now 30% above 6-year trend (33% above pre-pandemic level), confirming a rotation in the growth drivers towards domestic demand pic.twitter.com/c1sJ4zb4FC

China's export growth again surprised on the upside," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding that two factors - the booming U.S. economy and the COVID-19 crisis in India, causing some orders to shift to China - likely contributed to the strong export growth.

We expect China's export growth will stay strong into the second half of this year, as the two factors above will likely continue to favour Chinese manufacturers. Exports will be a key pillar for growth in China this year."

China posts rapid trade growth in April as recovery races ahead https://t.co/k6b4jBpYB4

7.27am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

After the Bank of England hiked its growth forecasts yesterday, investors are looking to the latest US jobs report for confirmation that the economic recovery is gathering pace.

After a surprisingly large jobs gain last month, we think the US is poised for a repeat performance as the economic re-opening gathers momentum. We are forecasting an April non-farm payrolls increase of just north of 1 million.

We know per recent qualitative data that companies are starved for employees at the moment, and that is evident in both ISM reports and in the Fed's Beige Book.

But on average, economists are expecting a blowout payrolls number of at least 1 million.

Nomura chief economist Lewis Alexander said market participants should brace for a monster U.S. payroll number" this week, driven in large part by advances in some of the industries hardest-hit by the pandemic. Leisure and hospitality payrolls are still down by 3.3 million compared to February 2020 levels, but have been making some of the largest gains over the past several months to try and lessen this deficit.

"A monster US payroll number... We expect US NFPs to well exceed 1m jobs in April" - Nomura

European Opening Calls:#FTSE 7108 +0.44%#DAX 15293 +0.64%#CAC 6378 +0.33%#AEX 716 +0.45%#MIB 24605 +0.45%#IBEX 9028 +0.51%#OMX 2260 +0.57%#STOXX 4017 +0.44%#IGOpeningCall

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